In June, IU announced the creation of a new Racial Justice Research Fund at IU. Vice President James Wimbush and I are now pleased to announce that the fund is currently supporting 31 projects, and continues to accept proposals on a rolling basis.
The innovative research imagined by IU faculty submitting proposals for funding is simply outstanding. Funded projects are taking place on six IU campuses and at the IU School of Medicine, covering wide-ranging topics such as environmental racism, Black women and faith, race as a factor in patient-oriented research, police misconduct, anti-Asian bias, and educational interventions. James and I are deeply grateful to our colleagues who have stepped up to lead these research projects and to the reviewers who have generously shared their time and expertise to facilitate expedited decisions about these grants.
Even as we facilitate research to understand and respond to racial injustice throughout our society, we also must address issues within IU’s research community and in the research environment more broadly, including those exacerbated by COVID-19. Scholars such as IU’s Cassidy Sugimoto, a professor in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at IU Bloomington, have documented how the shift to work from home meant many women scholars have taken on increased domestic responsibilities, especially child care, and as a result, have experienced increased pressure on their scholarly productivity. These challenges are acute and often disproportionately so among women of color.
A number of programs to help address these issues have been underway for some time at IU. To continue advancing this important area of study made even more critical by COVID-19, I also recently appointed a new Gender Equity in Research Task Force. To address the acute issues related to the pandemic and to examine the systemic inequities that are amplified by the current situation, I have asked the new task force to work closely with other initiatives being led by Vice President Wimbush and his colleagues focusing on racial equity issues related to COVID-19 and to suggest both short- and long-term actionable solutions within the research context.
The members of this task force are:
- Karen Bravo, McKinney School of Law, IUPUI
- Sanya Carley, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, IUB
- Hannah Craven, Medical Library, IU School of Medicine
- Mary Dankoski, Faculty Affairs, Professional Development and Diversity, IU School of Medicine
- Denvil Duncan, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, IUB
- Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, Faculty Affairs, Professional Development and Diversity, IU School of Medicine
- Laura Foster, Gender Studies, Law, and African American and Diaspora Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, IUB
- Justin Garcia, Kinsey Institute and Gender Studies, IUB
- Kimberly Geeslin, Faculty and Academic Affairs and Spanish and Portuguese, College of Arts and Sciences, IUB
- Rachel Katzenellenbogen, Adolescent Medicine, School of Medicine
- Bernice Pescosolido, Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research and Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences, IUB
- Bethan Roberts, Chief of Staff, Office of Vice President for Research, facilitator
- Kosali Simon, OVPR and O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Peggy Stockdale, Psychology, IUPUI
- Cassidy Sugimoto, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, IUB
I am grateful to them for their commitment and service. We welcome your thoughts about, and contributions to, these important initiatives. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch at research@iu.edu with any questions or comments.
Thank you.
Fred H. Cate
Vice President for Research
Distinguished Professor and C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law
James C. Wimbush
Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs
Dean of The University Graduate School
Johnson Chair for Diversity and Leadership
Distinguished Professor and C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law